Have you ever...?

Have you ever looked at your wardrobe, and realized that you did not need to purchase "that much" of a fragrance? Or that you should have purchased a larger bottle?
I find myself constantly opening my drawers and asking myself, "Why did I get the 3.4 oz..." I know the price is usually favorable, but I can't help but wonder. I also wish that I would have reconsidered bottle sizes on some of my complimentary bottles. L'Homme compliments La Nuit, and vise versa. I own a 100ml of La Nuit and a 50ml of L'Homme. However, I wish those bottle sizes were switched around, as I tend to wear L'Homme a lot more now (the night life dies once the semester starts!)

How about you, ladies and gentlemen? Do you find yourself wanting to downsize on a specific bottle? Wishing you would have purchased the larger one? Or simply wishing you could switch bottle sizes on some of your fragrances.

Re: Have you ever...?

I have several fragrances (well, probably most) that I will never get all the way through, simply because I have so many to choose from. However, the price difference is always so small between 50 and 100 ml, I almost always just spend a little more and get the 100ml... just to be sure!

Re: Have you ever...?

I never really feel I have "too much" of one, as I figure I'll eventually use it over the years. If I don't like it enough to use it, or simply get tired of it, then I can always sell or swap it. I have some favorites, however, that I currently only have 50 ml or decants of, and definitely wish I would have gotten more of at the time for just a little bit more money.

Re: Have you ever...?

I assume that my collection will be significantly downsized in a couple of years. All I really set out to do, a couple of years ago, was to find, let's say, forty or so, fragrances that I'd really enjoy wearing. Maybe 30-40. So, yes, I've made some mistakes and ended up with some bottles that are too big. It's part of the process. I assume that I'm going to have to try a few hundred names, wear them multiple times, live with them for a while, before I can really make an informed choice about what to keep. At least half of what I have is in bath and body product form, so even when I'm not in love with a fragrance it still has some usefulness as soap, or it keeps my skin from drying out, so everything gets used up (pretty much).

Anyway, the goal is to have less than half of what I have now. It'll take a while and, yes, I have too much of some names I don't like. I've only thrown out an almost full bottle once, a bottle of Kouros Cologne Sport shower gel. Though... my bottle of the reformulated Quorum and my bottle of Gentiane Blanche may meet the same fate, depending on space needs.

Re: Have you ever...?

I have 50+ bottles. I am in the process of reducing my collection to about 25. I have found what I really like and and I will use the money I receive for the other bottles and save it for something else.

Re: Have you ever...?

I believe that 99% of the time, a 1 oz bottle would be perfect for guys like me with at least 20 bottles. That 1% exception are my Creeds, which I wear more often (and because I love the bottles). I just never use anything up, although I do have a 1 oz of Aventus that will probably run out by Spring (but I have a 1.7 oz back-up).

Re: Have you ever...?

I fully agree with Teemas on this. It has been rather the opposite. Always the constant urge to expand, branch out, trade up, diversify etc., could never stop genuinely enjoying purchasing certain frags.

Re: Have you ever...?

I find myself reaching: for the bigger sized bottles when greed invades me, and for the small ones when I think clearly how a small size will be good for the next ten years or so, considering all the bottles and decants I already have.

Re: Have you ever...?

I was upsold to get a gift set of D&G The One. I now have a 100 and a 50. Although it's a great frag, I don't use it nearly enough to warrant that much in my collection. I would have been fine with just the 50. Then again, by applying for the department credit card, along with the sales etc, the 50 in the gift set was technically free when I purchased the 100 so I don't feel TOO badly about it!

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I'm not obsessed, I'm passionately intrigued. The difference is how much money I have available to spend!

Re: Have you ever...?

Yes. There are definitely bottles I wish were bigger and others I wish I had just got a sample of instead. I did a lot of blind ebay buying soon after I found this site and have expanded my collection to where there are frags that I will never wear. Probably need to start selling some of them.

Re: Have you ever...?

I usually buy 50 ml unless there is only 100 ml available. And whenever I see the level of a scent decrease slightly I start panicking and wish I had bought the big bottle (when it is a beloved scent). But to be honest, most of the time the level decreases not because of heavy usage but rather by decanting samples.
I think I should always buy 100 ml, and when it turns out too much I can still sell bigger decants (if it wasn't work...)

Re: Have you ever...?

Originally Posted by dougczar

I have several fragrances (well, probably most) that I will never get all the way through, simply because I have so many to choose from. However, the price difference is always so small between 50 and 100 ml, I almost always just spend a little more and get the 100ml... just to be sure!

Re: Have you ever...?

Definitely a lot of interesting answers. I suppose it makes more sense to those of us who can afford to keep upsizing. I guess when I asked this, I had in mind the rising cost of tuition, moving out, etc. Sometimes I think to myself that the extra money spend on larger bottles would add up to cover half of my rent for a month.
Oh well, if money were not an issue, I would not regret buying larger bottles
However, if I have other expenses (which I do now), I would probably downsize a bit

Re: Have you ever...?

HM by Hanae Mori. I bought 100mL's for $34 (this was with a bunch of old coupons, would have been like $60). I like it on occasion, but I doubt I'll ever get through all 100mL's.

HA!!! Exactly this.
H.M. I like it. I got mine for under $30. If I live to be 200 years old, I doubt I'll ever finish it.

- - - Updated - - -

I'm finally learning to pay more attention to the cost difference between smaller and larger sizes. If it's less than $10 (hello AMAZON!) I'll go for the large. Otherwise, I've finally started buying smaller sizes.

Re: Have you ever...?

Definitely a lot of interesting answers. I suppose it makes more sense to those of us who can afford to keep upsizing. I guess when I asked this, I had in mind the rising cost of tuition, moving out, etc.

I don't think it's about this to be honest. My collection is constantly growing but when I can I usually buy the smallest bottle available down to about 20mls, at least when it comes to modern scents. The only time I buy big bottles is when I'm replacing something I love and wear frequently, buying backups of vintage/discontinued scents I want or shopping at a discounter who only offers larger sizes albiet at prices equal to or less than the cost of a smaller bottle elsewhere.

It's not a question of whether or not the larger sizes are affordable. When I look at my collection and see a year old 100ml bottle that only has a few sprays missing though I might think, 'I could have gotten five minis or two or three 30ml bottles for that price,' and that can be cause for regret. There are just so many perfumes I want to buy. It's not even a question of following new releases, but of going back in time and searching out vintages. It's a hobby of endless discovery but the search costs money. Even if you have money to spare it makes sense to get more out of it, no?

When it comes to fragrances I love, fragrances that have stood the test of time, there is no such thing as too much. I think another basenoter put it best when they said they feel like they have to save them. However for the majority of modern fare I just want enough for a few months or a season of testing every now and then so I can fully come to grips with it. If I enjoy it I can always buy a larger bottle later. I find the cost of occasionally needing to replace an empty 30ml with a 50 or 100ml is off-set by the savings of buying smaller bottles in the first place.

I mean how far does one carry the bigger bottle logic? I rather like Caron Pour un Homme, but do I really need a 20 or so ounce bottle? Of course it's a huge saving for the quantity, but the standard 4.2 ounce/125ml bottle already lasts and lasts. Now if it were discontinued that's a different story.

Re: Have you ever...?

Good point Miket. In my case I always go for the larger bottle simply because I can't justify purchasing 50ml for $10 less than 100ml. I suppose if these fragrances are going to last as long as I'm around, then it's no big deal

Re: Have you ever...?

I looked at my measly 30ml bottle of Arpege pH and thought that, now that I like it, it has been discontinued and the prices have gone up. I could find and have bought another 30ml for a good price though, so now I feel a bit better about the whole issue.

Re: Have you ever...?

I wonder why i wasted a ton of time and money on Ross and Marshalls AND Ebay on $15 bottles when i could have easily got probably 10 niche Frags with the money i spent!! ah well you always learn more going through Terrible times

Re: Have you ever...?

However, the price difference is always so small between 50 and 100 ml, I almost always just spend a little more and get the 100ml... just to be sure!

I'm pretty much the same. I mostly buy things from online discounters, and with them the difference between 50ml and 100ml bottles usually seems to be even less than in the shops (if they even have 50ml bottles). I've only bought 50ml bottles a few times when I've seen something hard to get or exceptionally cheap (eg £25 for 50ml of Gucci PHII from eBay, £18 for 50ml of Boss No 1 from Cheapsmells).